The present disclosure relates generally to the field of laser beam production, and more particularly to systems and methods for low-level laser beam production. Known low-level lasers produce a beam originating from the diode with an initial irradiance of about 5 mW/cm2 (milliWatts/centimeter2) to about 5 W/cm2, such as 5 mW/cm2 to about 1 W/cm2. “Irradiance” refers to the power, or energy per time, per unit area of a laser emission. Irradiance might also be called “power density.” Laser beams tend to have narrow cross sections. However, in some applications, particularly in the medical field, it may be beneficial to apply a laser beam over large areas.
Raw laser beams may lack coherence and/or may be too narrow to be effectively applied to a large area. Further, raw laser emissions may have high peak irradiance that may injure a person if directed into sensitive tissue such as an eye. As an additional drawback, particularly with respect to infrared (IR) laser beams, which are not humanly visible, it may be difficult to determine where the laser is pointing, increasing the risk of accidentally directing the laser into sensitive tissue.